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Wednesday, February 27 17:41:39
Euro zone governments are discussing ways to help Ireland and Portugal return to the capital markets swiftly.
They have voiced a preference for delaying the repayment of bailout loans to the two states, sources familiar with discussions said today.
The sources quoted from a 15-page discussion paper from the European Commission and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) that was debated last week by deputy finance ministers from the euro zone.
Finance ministers from the so-called Eurogroup may discuss the matter at their next meeting in Brussels on Monday.
"They are favouring an extension of maturities of the EFSF and EFSM loans in order to avoid bottlenecks in paying back (the loans)," one of the sources with knowledge of the document told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. (C) Reuters